Just in case the LGBT community was beginning to think that the Obama administration had turned a corner on the deportations of legally married spouses, DOJ wants us to know we were wrong. DOJ's spokesperson, possibly trying to assuage the right-wingers on Capitol Hill, made the definitive statement that DOJ will continue to defend DOMA, which DOJ considers unconstitutional. An article in today's New York Times it sound like the case of Paul Wilson Dorman was an anomaly. DOJ's Tracy Schmaler wants binational couples to know that deportation is still a very real possibility:
Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for Mr. Holder, said he had interceded in Mr. Dorman’s case only because he wanted the immigration appeals court to decide issues he felt had been overlooked. “As we have made clear, we will continue to enforce DOMA,” Ms. Schmaler said.Now, this could all be part of a game that DOJ is playing, to buy some time until DOMA is finally ruled unconstitutional. And, this Schmaler's language could be designed to quell criticism from the GOPers on the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) (as if that ever works.) But, DOJ has spent the past two and a half years of fighting against our rights and basic equality, so that institution has very little credibility with the LGBT community (and, by LGBT community, I don't mean leaders of LGBT advocacy groups who socialize with DOJ's LGBT liaison.)
In February, Mr. Holder announced that the administration viewed the marriage act as unconstitutional and would not defend it in the courts, although the administration would continue to enforce the law.
Gay rights advocates have asked the administration to postpone all deportations for same-sex married couples until the courts decide whether the marriage act is constitutional. Under immigration law, an American citizen can petition for legal residency for a spouse, if the spouse is not the same sex.
Hard to imagine how it's going to help generate enthusiasm for the reelection if the Obama administration is deporting legally married spouses. We're going to spend a lot of our time and energy fighting to protect them. That's time that might otherwise be spent campaigning.
Surely the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have other things to worry about then deporting law-abiding spouses. Surely.
